Breast cancer: IBIS risk evaluator tool aims to cut number of new diagnoses
Scientists have devised a user-friendly computer program that can give an accurate estimate of a woman's chance of developing breast cancer.
The program, called IBIS risk evaluator, pulls together all the existing evidence on the causes and risk factors for breast cancer.
To use the program, a woman or doctor answers questions on her family history of breast cancer. This allows the program to work out whether the woman is likely to carry a high-risk breast cancer gene such as BRCA1 or 2, or whether she is likely to carry an undiscovered lower risk gene.
Further questions investigate a woman's personal risk factors to developing breast cancer, such as age, height and weight, and whether she has had children. It also asks if the woman is post-menopausal and has taken HRT. These replies are then factored into the equation to produce a personalised risk profile.
As the risk of breast cancer increases with age, the program calculates a projected risk for the next 10 years as well as over a woman's lifetime. This risk is given as a percentage probability alongside the average risk for a woman of the same age in the UK.
The program is currently being used in a small number of UK hospitals and could be made available in every GP surgery to help doctors decide whether a woman needs reassurance or advice on prevention.
Women found to be at high risk can join the IBIS-II prevention trial, which is a 10-year study involving 10,000 healthy women at an increased risk of breast cancer. All women using the service will also be given general advice on how to lose weight, limit HRT use and get access to breast cancer screening. Professor Robert Souhami, director of clinical and external affairs at Cancer Research UK, said the program was the first step towards better preventative measures.
"There is no single cause of breast cancer but through research we have been able to find some of the most important risk factors. This program is a useful tool because it takes all the known risk factors into account and gives us an idea of who is most at risk. Knowing who is at risk is the first step towards preventing breast cancer," he said.
